Back by popular demand, Beautiful Strings II harpist Sophia Chan, 17, is joined by pianist Christina Chang, 15, in the final concert of the 2017-18 Young Artists Series.

Saturday, May 26
4:00 PM

General Admission $15 – Seniors and Students $10U18 free with paid admission

Harpist Sophia Chan, 17, returns to the MusicaNova Young Artists series after her début in the unique Beautiful Strings program in the 2014-15 season.

Currently a senior at Arizona College Preparatory-Erie in Chandler AZ, Sophia has been playing the harp for over 10 years. She began at the age of 6 when she was living in Hong Kong, where she initially trained under Ms. Judy Ho. Because her first teacher moved to England to pursue her masters, Sophia transitioned to a new mentor, Ms. Dan Yu. Currently she studies with internationally known harpist Alla Yashneva.

When Sophia moved to Arizona in 2012, she started and is still volunteer-playing for Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, elderly homes such as The Oaks, Generations at Agritopia, and Silver Creek Inn, and Sunshine Acres Children’s Home every weekend. At Mercy Gilbert, she was also frequently invited to play at Celebration of Life performances. Since 2014, Sophia has served as the principal harpist of her school’s Symphonic Orchestra. In 2015, she received a private masterclass from Dr. Lynne Aspnes of the University of Michigan and Arizona State University. Then in 2016, Sophia won First Place in the Young Artist Recital organized by the American Harp Society – Phoenix Chapter. Also in 2016, having already received her Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) Grade 8 Distinction (highest level of the ABRSM system), she earned her Level 4 Diploma in Musical Performance – Harp Recital – with Distinction, and became an Associate of Trinity College London (ATCL) as a result.

In 2017, she became a volunteer teacher and principal harpist for MusicaNova’s education partner Harmony Project-Phoenix’s Orquestra Juvenil under Dr. Diogo Pereira. She was able to connect Harmony Project to various senior care facilities to provide the children with an opportunity to play for those in need. In October of 2017, Sophia won First Place in the Classics Alive National Young Artists Audition in her Division with the harp. She also won First Place in the Intermediate I Division of the 5th Mexico International Harp Competition in November 2017. She also took up paid teaching at Music and Arts music school in Mesa AZ and City Music Store in Chandler AZ, as well as wedding gigs.

When Sophia is not playing the harp, she is either planning events for her school as Student Body Vice President, working at ASU on her Science Fair Project, or competing at Robotics competitions with her team. She hopes to pursue a biomedical engineering major and a harp performance minor in college. In August 2017 Sophia was recognized for scoring a perfect 36 on the ACT college readiness assessment test.

Sophia’s Recital Program

Christina Chang, 15, is a sophomore at BASIS Scottsdale. She started playing the piano when she was five years old. Christina’s current piano teacher is Mr. Fei Xu.

Christina recently performed in the East Valley Music Teacher’s Association competition where she placed Gold in her division. Also in 2016, Christina entered into the Arizona Musicfest competition where she placed second in Division II. She was also been an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Arizona Young Artist Piano Competition.

Christina also plays the violin and has been playing since she was six years old. Christina has been a member of the Phoenix Youth Symphony (String Orchestra and Symphonette Orchestra ensembles) as a violinist for five years.

Christina enjoys drawing and painting. She also enjoys reading and listening to all types of music during her spare time.